1200 calories a day for women
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Just curious if any of the people who are set at 1200 today, are at all curious/intrigued/motivated by all the people saying that you actually can eat more and still lose weight? If anyone is considering recalculating their goal? I often feel like people wear their 1200 calorie goal as a badge of honor and I just don't understand that. If you CAN eat more and still lose, why would you not want to try that?
For the record - I'm 5'2 and 40. I started on MFP in Feb of 2013 so a bit over 2 years ago. I was at my highest non-pregnancy weight of 150 lbs. I have a desk job and at the time, I wasn't exercising much so I put myself at Sedentary. I put in my stats and that I wanted to lose 1 lb/week. MFP gave me 1200 cals. For the first few weeks, I was always over my calories, but I was still losing weight. I started reading the forums and realizing that 1200 is not enough for many people, so I upped my calories to 1400, then 1500, and I kept losing, about 1 lb/week. I started walking for exercise, occaisionally stationary bike. I ate back every bit of my exercise calories. I got a FitBit in August of 2013, and realized I was averaging about 10,000 steps which puts me at lightly active. I had lost about 18 lbs at that point so I changed my goal to 0.5 lb/week and lightly active and ended up with around 1650 cals/day. I kept eating back the FitBit adjustments, kept losing (when I was staying on track, I took a couple of breaks) and lost my original goal of 25 lbs by March of 2014. I have since lost about another 5 lbs and am set at about 1700 cals but getting ready to up it to1800 just to really stop the losing process and officially move to maintenance. I eat 1900-2000 cals pretty much every day. My exercise is still primarily walking (I now average about 13,000 steps/day) and some really basic circuit training with light weights.
TL/DR - just because you are short, have a desk job, are not in your twenties, and not exercising like a fiend doesn't mean you can't eat a lot more food and still lose weight. Some of you should really consider upping your calories.
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I have a sedentary job. I'm 60 years old, 5'3", weight 153 pounds. To lose 1 pound a week MFP and other site says to eat 1200 calories. My setting is currently at 1240. But I slowly came down from the 1400-1350 range to get here.
Prior to having 2 injuries in the past year which has lowered my exercise calories to very little, my range of 1350 worked. But I combined my Nutriton with strength training 3-4x week with 3 HIIT sessions, and 2 days of total body workouts like BFBM and others I found free on cable TV. With consistency I lost (.5-.65) pounds a week.
At 1240 I'm giving my body some energy for my healing and all my physical therapy. I don't know if I'll go down to 1200 until my physical therapy is completed. One injury where therapy is completed needs a 2nd opinion. If I have to go lower to be at the right deficit I will. But I will be reasonable and keep my weight loss weekly setting at .5 pound per week.
We all have different bodies, conditions, and situations. It's one thing to be starving yourself at 1200 and a different thing to be at 1200 because that is what works best for you without starving yourself. More people need to understand this before they dismiss someone who eats at lower or higher ranges.
Stay strong everyone!0 -
Just curious if any of the people who are set at 1200 today, are at all curious/intrigued/motivated by all the people saying that you actually can eat more and still lose weight? If anyone is considering recalculating their goal? I often feel like people wear their 1200 calorie goal as a badge of honor and I just don't understand that. If you CAN eat more and still lose, why would you not want to try that?
For the record - I'm 5'2 and 40. I started on MFP in Feb of 2013 so a bit over 2 years ago. I was at my highest non-pregnancy weight of 150 lbs. I have a desk job and at the time, I wasn't exercising much so I put myself at Sedentary. I put in my stats and that I wanted to lose 1 lb/week. MFP gave me 1200 cals. For the first few weeks, I was always over my calories, but I was still losing weight. I started reading the forums and realizing that 1200 is not enough for many people, so I upped my calories to 1400, then 1500, and I kept losing, about 1 lb/week. I started walking for exercise, occaisionally stationary bike. I ate back every bit of my exercise calories. I got a FitBit in August of 2013, and realized I was averaging about 10,000 steps which puts me at lightly active. I had lost about 18 lbs at that point so I changed my goal to 0.5 lb/week and lightly active and ended up with around 1650 cals/day. I kept eating back the FitBit adjustments, kept losing (when I was staying on track, I took a couple of breaks) and lost my original goal of 25 lbs by March of 2014. I have since lost about another 5 lbs and am set at about 1700 cals but getting ready to up it to1800 just to really stop the losing process and officially move to maintenance. I eat 1900-2000 cals pretty much every day. My exercise is still primarily walking (I now average about 13,000 steps/day) and some really basic circuit training with light weights.
TL/DR - just because you are short, have a desk job, are not in your twenties, and not exercising like a fiend doesn't mean you can't eat a lot more food and still lose weight. Some of you should really consider upping your calories.
As.for the woman who is 5'7 on 1200, in my opinion, it seems low but it could also be her frame or lack of muscle density. This is why when you get older, doctors recommend weight training to increase muscle mass. More muscle=more calories burned. This is why men can eat more.
This is for everyone: I'm my opinion (I'm not an expert and I don't known anyone here personally) the 1200 is not exactly "why" most of us are losing weight on the 1200. Most of us are losing weight because for the first time or first time in a long time, we are eating LESS, that's all. Evrn.if you are eating 1800 and you drop to 1500, you will lose weight. It's simply math, nothing else.
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Just curious if any of the people who are set at 1200 today, are at all curious/intrigued/motivated by all the people saying that you actually can eat more and still lose weight? If anyone is considering recalculating their goal? I often feel like people wear their 1200 calorie goal as a badge of honor and I just don't understand that. If you CAN eat more and still lose, why would you not want to try that?
For the record - I'm 5'2 and 40. I started on MFP in Feb of 2013 so a bit over 2 years ago. I was at my highest non-pregnancy weight of 150 lbs. I have a desk job and at the time, I wasn't exercising much so I put myself at Sedentary. I put in my stats and that I wanted to lose 1 lb/week. MFP gave me 1200 cals. For the first few weeks, I was always over my calories, but I was still losing weight. I started reading the forums and realizing that 1200 is not enough for many people, so I upped my calories to 1400, then 1500, and I kept losing, about 1 lb/week. I started walking for exercise, occaisionally stationary bike. I ate back every bit of my exercise calories. I got a FitBit in August of 2013, and realized I was averaging about 10,000 steps which puts me at lightly active. I had lost about 18 lbs at that point so I changed my goal to 0.5 lb/week and lightly active and ended up with around 1650 cals/day. I kept eating back the FitBit adjustments, kept losing (when I was staying on track, I took a couple of breaks) and lost my original goal of 25 lbs by March of 2014. I have since lost about another 5 lbs and am set at about 1700 cals but getting ready to up it to1800 just to really stop the losing process and officially move to maintenance. I eat 1900-2000 cals pretty much every day. My exercise is still primarily walking (I now average about 13,000 steps/day) and some really basic circuit training with light weights.
TL/DR - just because you are short, have a desk job, are not in your twenties, and not exercising like a fiend doesn't mean you can't eat a lot more food and still lose weight. Some of you should really consider upping your calories.
I prefer to eat a little less and lose a little more each week. Although, I don't eat 1200 calories a day as a rule. Some days I am over.
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I didn't exercise yesterday and did not hit my 1200 goal, I ended up close to 1400. But that's what I needed to not be hungry. I use 1200 as more of a guideline, not as a strict number that can never be exceeded or all is lost.0
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I started at 1,200 calories, I lost 20 in a month in a half but I was very tired & when I would get up from sitting down it would look fuzzy. Now I eat 1,700 calories a day I've lost 57 since jan.0
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lthames0810 wrote: »lthames0810 wrote: »I made the mistake of calulating on Scooby what my maintenance will be at my goal weight. (Shouldn't have looked ahead.) At age 60, 5'6", I'll only have a TDEE of 1375, without taking into consideration that I'll be even older by the time I hit goal.
May as well learn to cope with 1200 a day since 1375 isn't significantly better.
That's strange. I am 62..5'6"...light exercise and I get a maintenance of 1700. That is with a goal weight of 145.
I went back and re-entered my stats in Scooby and you are right. This time I get a TDEE at goal of 1595. I feel much better now.
Sorry, everyone, for whining about nothing.
I started not to say anything but I just couldn't help myself...I didn't want to see you thinking that was all that you were going to get to eat.
For me to get 1700 I have to at least keep my activity level at lightly active...I hope to increase that between now and the time I hit goal weight to moderately active. I have no hopes of ever getting to "extreme"...the body is just too old for that! I might break it. It is already protesting on some days. We are in a rainy season right now and the joints would just rather sit on the couch and be pampered.
Sigh...the price of getting old and letting myself go all of those years.
Thanks for speaking up! (Writing up?)
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Just curious if any of the people who are set at 1200 today, are at all curious/intrigued/motivated by all the people saying that you actually can eat more and still lose weight? If anyone is considering recalculating their goal? I often feel like people wear their 1200 calorie goal as a badge of honor and I just don't understand that. If you CAN eat more and still lose, why would you not want to try that?
For the record - I'm 5'2 and 40. I started on MFP in Feb of 2013 so a bit over 2 years ago. I was at my highest non-pregnancy weight of 150 lbs. I have a desk job and at the time, I wasn't exercising much so I put myself at Sedentary. I put in my stats and that I wanted to lose 1 lb/week. MFP gave me 1200 cals. For the first few weeks, I was always over my calories, but I was still losing weight. I started reading the forums and realizing that 1200 is not enough for many people, so I upped my calories to 1400, then 1500, and I kept losing, about 1 lb/week. I started walking for exercise, occaisionally stationary bike. I ate back every bit of my exercise calories. I got a FitBit in August of 2013, and realized I was averaging about 10,000 steps which puts me at lightly active. I had lost about 18 lbs at that point so I changed my goal to 0.5 lb/week and lightly active and ended up with around 1650 cals/day. I kept eating back the FitBit adjustments, kept losing (when I was staying on track, I took a couple of breaks) and lost my original goal of 25 lbs by March of 2014. I have since lost about another 5 lbs and am set at about 1700 cals but getting ready to up it to1800 just to really stop the losing process and officially move to maintenance. I eat 1900-2000 cals pretty much every day. My exercise is still primarily walking (I now average about 13,000 steps/day) and some really basic circuit training with light weights.
TL/DR - just because you are short, have a desk job, are not in your twenties, and not exercising like a fiend doesn't mean you can't eat a lot more food and still lose weight. Some of you should really consider upping your calories.
This gives me hope that I might be able to eat 2000 for maintenance.0 -
Just curious if any of the people who are set at 1200 today, are at all curious/intrigued/motivated by all the people saying that you actually can eat more and still lose weight? If anyone is considering recalculating their goal? I often feel like people wear their 1200 calorie goal as a badge of honor and I just don't understand that. If you CAN eat more and still lose, why would you not want to try that?
Yes, I am reconsidering (now that my incompetent Scooby operation has been sorted out).
I've been having a hard time sticking to 1200 lately, so effectively, I have been eating more than that, but I have also been stalled out in my weight loss, even gaining some. Over the past week I've been trying harder to keep within 1200, but failing at it, so I actually averaged 1400 (net) and my weight began to creep down again.0 -
mamapeach910 wrote: »Any time I see someone who is not old and short like me eating 1200, I think I hear a kitten dying somewhere.
Older and shorter women DO need to eat 1200 to lose weight, and because our metabolisms are at an appropriate rate to handle such an intake, I don't think there's really a problem eating that many calories. I certainly don't struggle with hunger. Or with getting nutrition. Or with fitting in treats here and there.
Anyone else? Just no.brightsideofpink wrote: »Just wanted to say that those ladies who replied saying they were over 50 or self-identified as 'old' look great! I'd have never have guessed your age. So while its a bummer that you're stuck with less calories, you do look awesome!
I know OP wasn't aspiring to 1200, more like denigrating it, but 1200 is doable and appropriate for some people. Sort of like marathon-ing is awesome for some people, but not everyone can take it.
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I'm doing 1200 but I'm also only 5'2" and down to 131. Eating at 1200 for me is eating at less than a 400 calorie deficit based on my TDEE. I'm losing no more than a pound a week tops on a good week. If I ate a lot of junk I would probably feel like crap on 1200, but I love to cook my own meals and have lots of protein and veggies and always feel satisfied after a meal.0
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The short time I stuck with 1200 calories/day, I was only successful when I ate a lot of home cooked meals. I was able to eat a good volume of chicken, fish, and veggies... But I did eat at maintenance almost 1-2 days a week, though, so that I could really have what I wanted to eat. This was more sustainable for me than eating 1500 calories a day and it gave me the same results as eating 1500 calories a day.0
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Another 1,200-cal person here. I'm 5'7" and currently 170. Just turned 54. I find 1,200 to be manageable when I'm paying close attention to what I'm eating and especially portion size (the great benefit of MFP). It's easier in summer, when there are lots of fresh vegetables and fruits around. I could easily live on grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, salads with olives and avocado and cukes, Greek yogurt and blueberries, etc. I'm not a fancy cook, so I'm happy without rich sauces, etc. (Those are more of a problem for eating out.)
The challenge for me is having to be so careful about sweets and bread (my downfalls). For example, my go-to sweet right now is Camino 71% dark chocolate, but 25 grams is over 140 cal, so I can't eat it mindlessly (and the more I eat, the more I want). So 1,200 works fine as long as I'm eating at a kind of "basic" level of health/nutrition, but anything beyond that requires rationing. Like others have said, this is a motivation to exercise -- but since I don't always have time for that, I have to be really careful on the days when I know I can't exercise. Then the exercise days feel like a bit of a spree!0 -
history_grrrl wrote: »Another 1,200-cal person here. I'm 5'7" and currently 170. Just turned 54. I find 1,200 to be manageable when I'm paying close attention to what I'm eating and especially portion size (the great benefit of MFP). It's easier in summer, when there are lots of fresh vegetables and fruits around. I could easily live on grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, salads with olives and avocado and cukes, Greek yogurt and blueberries, etc. I'm not a fancy cook, so I'm happy without rich sauces, etc. (Those are more of a problem for eating out.)
The challenge for me is having to be so careful about sweets and bread (my downfalls). For example, my go-to sweet right now is Camino 71% dark chocolate, but 25 grams is over 140 cal, so I can't eat it mindlessly (and the more I eat, the more I want). So 1,200 works fine as long as I'm eating at a kind of "basic" level of health/nutrition, but anything beyond that requires rationing. Like others have said, this is a motivation to exercise -- but since I don't always have time for that, I have to be really careful on the days when I know I can't exercise. Then the exercise days feel like a bit of a spree!
History Girl, On my 1200 target (sometimes I go over to 1300-1500 but that's mostly when I eat out with my kids), I leave room for one indulge at the end of the day, after dinner. It helps satisfy my sweet craving. The indulge is usually 1 Fiber One 90 calorie bar and a cup of decaf sweetened with Stevia. It helps me mentally to kniw that I can have a small treat. Sometimes my treat is a fruit orotein shake. BTW, I turn 48 next month. I'm 5'2 and as of this morning, I'm 126 lbs. My goal is 120 or 115. I'll re access when I get to 120. I've lost over 25 lbs working out and logging EVERYTHING! I LOST ABOUT 1/2 a week. Slow & steady works for me. Good luck0 -
I meant to say that I've lost about 1/2 a pound a week. It's been slow but I think it's because of the heavy strength training that I do. So, I'm pretty muscular. I should probably post an updated picture so people will know what eating at 1200 with occasional increases here and there looks like on a 5'2 woman in her 40s. Lol! I'm by no means starving!0
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I'm 56 years old, 5'0", and 115 pounds as of this morning, aiming for 110 as my goal. I'm comfortable at 1200, and I'll go below with no problems on an inactive day (this has been one). Just had a partial thyroidectomy, so I'm anticipating some change with how I'll balance things, but I don't intend to start climbing upward.0
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alexistexas33 wrote: »I know that I look at some of my friends (on here) and read their calorie intakes, I just don't understand how it's possible to eat until 1,200 calories for a woman and remain healthy.
Do doctors really recommend 1,200 a day for women or is everyone just trying to loose weight fast?
I have to eat 1200 calories or less a day to lose 0.9lbs per week. I've got about 20lbs to lose for Summer, so any slower weight loss than that, e.g 0.5 pounds per week, is too slow & frustrating and ultimately results in giving-in with negligable losses because progress is so slow in relation to the effort i am putting in.
I think 1pound is a perfectly healthy amount to lose per week. Therefore eating only 1200 calories a day cannot be unhealthy, if it correlates with your stats - ie. the reason my calories have to be so low to lose weight is, i believe, because i'm really short: just 5ft1". Current weight is 143 pounds.
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I believe it's based on the persons stats. Some women 1200 is perfectly fine in order to create a deficit for weight loss.0
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Ok I just updated my profile. Just a quick snaoshit after hitting the gym earlier, so I'm a but of a mess. As you can see, I'm not starving on 1200 calories. Lol!0
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Snapshot oops.0
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I'm a 210 lbs male working on shredding my last 10 lbs and im on 2000 callories a day. It's a matter of trial and adjustment, but ive found its extremely important to eat almost only things that are going to both help you reach your goals AND keep you full if you're that restricted.
People can get vicious trying to defend IIFYM which means if it fits your macros then go ahead and eat it cuz overal you'll reach your goal. But that doesn't help the person who's hungry but can't eat enough because they already had cereal or a few cookies or something and it wasn't enough to hold them over. I eat 200 grams of lean protein a day and eat carbs from sources like quinoa and broccoli. I often find myself forcing chicken later in the day because im simply not hungry. Im a month out from competition and most of those "IIFYM" die hards are a month away from having almost the same body composition that they already have.
People will believe and defend something that's easyer for them to follow, but you just cant argue that the best way to reach your fitness goals on the nutrition side of things is to find out exactly what your macros need to be for your goals and give your body the best sources of those nutrients all the time..they absolutely will try lol..0 -
I have on occasion when I find myself going astray from my diet drop down to 1200 for 3 days. I can still meet all my nutrients IF I am very careful. After three days...I am hungry...tired and feeling drained so I go back to my 1500-1600 level.
I will say however...when I had 100lbs to lose it was easier to stay at 1200...mainly because my exercise level was low because of the weight. As I lost weight and exercised more intensely...I needed more food.0 -
Last summer, I was doing 1200 + exercise while marathon training. In hindsight, I'm not sure how I managed it. Netting 1200 even with 300-500 calorie burns daily, I lost about 10-12 pounds over 5 months and somehow didn't run myself into the ground. Now on this second training cycle, I'm netting 1450 + exercise (I usually eat 1800+ total every day), and I'm still losing ~2 lbs a month, and I get to eat more of the foods I like. Works better for me to eat more, but 1200 net was achievable for a time. I can't imagine eating 1200 total though!0
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I'm a 210 lbs male working on shredding my last 10 lbs and im on 2000 callories a day. It's a matter of trial and adjustment, but ive found its extremely important to eat almost only things that are going to both help you reach your goals AND keep you full if you're that restricted.
People can get vicious trying to defend IIFYM which means if it fits your macros then go ahead and eat it cuz overal you'll reach your goal. But that doesn't help the person who's hungry but can't eat enough because they already had cereal or a few cookies or something and it wasn't enough to hold them over. I eat 200 grams of lean protein a day and eat carbs from sources like quinoa and broccoli. I often find myself forcing chicken later in the day because im simply not hungry. Im a month out from competition and most of those "IIFYM" die hards are a month away from having almost the same body composition that they already have.
People will believe and defend something that's easyer for them to follow, but you just cant argue that the best way to reach your fitness goals on the nutrition side of things is to find out exactly what your macros need to be for your goals and give your body the best sources of those nutrients all the time..they absolutely will try lol..
I don't think you understand IIFYM...
First you have to hit your macros. It is very difficult to do that if you aren't eating nutrient dense foods. Once you have hit all your nutritional goals, if you then want to eat ice cream, that is ok. You don't get extra credit for choking down more broccoli at the end of the day if you've already hit all your goals.
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CoconuttyMummy wrote: »alexistexas33 wrote: »I know that I look at some of my friends (on here) and read their calorie intakes, I just don't understand how it's possible to eat until 1,200 calories for a woman and remain healthy.
Do doctors really recommend 1,200 a day for women or is everyone just trying to loose weight fast?
I have to eat 1200 calories or less a day to lose 0.9lbs per week. I've got about 20lbs to lose for Summer, so any slower weight loss than that, e.g 0.5 pounds per week, is too slow & frustrating and ultimately results in giving-in with negligable losses because progress is so slow in relation to the effort i am putting in.
I think 1pound is a perfectly healthy amount to lose per week. Therefore eating only 1200 calories a day cannot be unhealthy, if it correlates with your stats - ie. the reason my calories have to be so low to lose weight is, i believe, because i'm really short: just 5ft1". Current weight is 143 pounds.
I'm not saying 1200 is inherently unhealthy, it is possible to eat 1200 cals and get the appropriate nutrition, and if you are eating exercise cals back and netting 1200 (as MFP is designed to do) and eating more like 1400 or 1500 cals then yes I think that is a fairly manageable approach. What I'm saying is that 1200 doesn't give you anywhere to go if things do slow down, and can be hard to maintain for the long term.
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I view 1200 to be the safe minimum. As soon as it was practical, I upped my calories, first to 1300 and now around 1600.0
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I'm 28, 5'4", 141. I've been sticking to 1200 for over a month now (not perfectly, but good enough) and I've never felt deprived. Lost 8 lbs. I eat nutrient dense food, cut out all the unnecessary junk, and watch portion sizes. I also ignore the little voice in my head that tells me I'm hungry when I just ate an hour ago. That voice is what got me in this jam, so she can suck it and chill with a cup of hot tea.0
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I had a very decadent 1200 day yesterday:
Breakfast: an egg broken over a small garnet yam (which I microwaved soft then dry-sauteed). Coffee, almond milk and my vitamins.
Lunch: a small handfull of leftover rotini, heated with red beans and mixed with a mixed salad which I chopped small in a food processor and with a pickle tossed in. Then I gave in and had a Snickers bar (160 calories).
Dinner: chicken cutlet, breaded with ground-up Fiber One and a pan sauce made from onion and 5 French fries, deglazed with 1/8 cup of white wine. Weight Watchers snack size ice cream cone for dessert.
Starch at each meal: unheard of for me since December...
8 ounces of fluids and an hour of vigorous walking around the park. This morning, with a little fear, I stepped on the scale and it was at 113.6, about half a pound lower than yesterday!0 -
I'm on 1200 cal a day too and I'm 20yrs old 5ft 8 tall. Some days I'm really hungry and some days I'm not. If you eat healthy you can eat quite a lot in a day on those calories. Im taking a very aggressive approach. I am also exercising for 40 mins a day and not eating back those calories and i was losing 1-2kg a week. Now it has slowed so i will up my calories maybe every other day to still keep my body guessing so i will still lose weight. As long as your not miserable i think its fine.0
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francinejones7 wrote: »I'm on 1200 cal a day too and I'm 20yrs old 5ft 8 tall. Some days I'm really hungry and some days I'm not. If you eat healthy you can eat quite a lot in a day on those calories. Im taking a very aggressive approach. I am also exercising for 40 mins a day and not eating back those calories and i was losing 1-2kg a week. Now it has slowed so i will up my calories maybe every other day to still keep my body guessing so i will still lose weight. As long as your not miserable i think its fine.
1200 cals may indeed be appropriate for some people but a presumably healthy 20 year old who is 5'8 is not one of them.
Why the aggressive approach?
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